Sydney — An Australian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a government source said on Sunday, in the latest transit of the sensitive waterway by a US ally that Chinese state-backed media said was tracked and monitored by the nation’s military.
In addition to claiming sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, Beijing views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters and has responded aggressively on occasion to foreign navies sailing there.
The Toowoomba, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, “conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait” on Friday and Saturday as part of a “regional presence deployment in the Indo-Pacific region“, the source said.
“All interactions with foreign ships and aircraft were safe and professional,” the source said. Reuters
The UAE did not say who it suspected of orchestrating the attacks. Picture: (123RF/dolgachov) UAE foils cyberattacks on key sectors, state media reports
Dubai — The UAE has thwarted organised cyberattacks targeting the country’s digital infrastructure and vital sectors, the state news agency said on Saturday.
The attacks “included attempts to infiltrate networks, deploy ransomware and conduct systematic phishing campaigns targeting national platforms” and involved artificial intelligence technologies to develop offensive tools, it added. The report did not say who was to blame for the attacks. Reuters
Hundreds of prisoners are being released under Venezuela’s amnesty law. Picture: (123RF/ danhenson) Venezuela processes 1,550 amnesty requests, releases prisoners
Buenos Aires — Venezuela has received more than 1,550 requests under its new amnesty law, National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez said on state-run television on Saturday.
Rodriguez said hundreds of prisoners are currently being released under the law, which was passed by the ruling party-controlled legislature on Thursday. Human rights organisations say the law falls short of offering relief for hundreds of political prisoners in the country.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who took power last month after the US ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, has bowed to Trump administration demands on oil sales and released hundreds of people classified by human rights groups as political prisoners. Reuters
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says it would be irresponsible to take on more debt. Picture: (Christian Mang) German chancellor rules out further debt limit loosening
Stuttgart — Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday ruled out a further loosening of German borrowing limits before the next federal election in 2029, arguing it would be irresponsible to take on more debt.
Merz moved quickly to loosen Germany’s constitutionally enshrined borrowing limits known as the “debt brake” after winning an election in February last year, freeing up hundreds of billions of euros for defence and infrastructure spending.
But the move created a backlash, including from among his own voters. Critics argued the new debt gave the government more leeway for day-to-day spending rather than improving Europe’s largest economy by addressing years of underinvestment. Reuters
IDFC First says it observed discrepancies of 5.9-billion rupees in accounts. Picture: (Getty Images ) IDFC First Bank probes $65m fraud tied to officials
New Delhi — India’s IDFC First Bank said it was investigating a suspected fraud of $65m by some employees involving accounts of local government entities and that the bank had alerted the police.
In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange late on Saturday, IDFC First said it had observed discrepancies of 5.9-billion rupees in accounts of some entities of the Haryana state government in the north of the country.
The Mumbai-based midsize private lender said it had suspended four employees of the branch in the city of Chandigarh pending investigation of the “incident involving unauthorised and fraudulent activities”. Reuters